Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Pre-workout links

I'm fixing to head out to the practice facility to watch the workouts with Joe Alexander, Donte Green and Nicolas Batum. I'll have a report for you from the workouts this afternoon. Here are some links to peruse in the interim.• As previously stated, Joe Alexander is in town today. And as fate would have it, he has some familiarity with at least one current Trail Blazer.

Coach John Beilein opted for Alexander hoping he could provide a spark. Showing none of the fear that normally might accompany a kid in that spot, he drew a foul and made two free throws and then posted up eventual All-American LaMarcus Aldridge for a turnaround jumper.

He grabbed an offensive and defensive rebound and by the time he handed out an assist to Mike Gansey, it was a 37-31 lead and Texas needed a timeout to recuperate.

If at that very moment the Mountaineers were still looking for someone to replace D'or Fischer or Tyrone Sally and provide a backbone under basket on the way back to the NCAA Tournament, it was Alexander.

Yet Alexander played just 10 games that season and was a total non-factor late in his sophomore year.

Portland- This is a team that is looking for a veteran point guard, and Ford certainly fits into that mold. They also have a glutton of picks (13th, 33rd, 36th, and 55th) in the upcoming draft and the Raptors could certainly use one of those picks, especially seeing as they don’t have a second round pick this season.

Maybe a package that centered around Joel Przybilla, who the Blazers don’t need with a healthy Greg Oden coming back next season. Add this to go with the fact that Rasho Nesterovic is only under contract for one more season and it could set the Raptors up at the center position for a few more years and give them an excellent center combination this season with Rasho and Przybilla.

The Raptors could also potentially get either the 33rd or 36th pick in this season’s draft or a solid bench player like Jarrett Jack or Sergio Rodriguez.

Either way, I think the Raptors and Trail Blazers are good trade partners, as Portland wants a veteran point guard and have a lot of trade assets with their number of solid young players to go along with several draft picks.

New York (No. 6) and Portland (No. 13) are believed to be among the teams that would be willing to trade down or out of the first round. The Knicks, who have a payroll of just less than $91 million next season, may be looking to cut costs while the Trail Blazers, who are already loaded with young talent, may be willing to give up their first-round pick to add experience.

The Suns are also exploring the idea of acquiring a second first-round choice. Doing so might cost them Leandro Barbosa or Boris Diaw. "If we could capitalize on (the depth of the draft) and get more than one (first-round pick), we would," Griffin said. "If that's below us or above us, either way that's fine. It's just a potentially good opportunity to fill a few needs and address our need for youth."

A second pick would make a player like French forward Nicolas Batum more attractive. The 6-foot-8, 214-pound 19-year-old has huge upside but still needs time to develop physically and is at least a year away from being NBA ready. Chances are he will play another year in Europe.

Any team other than those holding the top two picks have been "rumored" to be willing to trade down, so take this with a salt lick.